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Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul has released the following statement highlighting his concern with the rehiring of a USAGM executive who was fired after repeated reports of mismanagement, misuse of funds and falsification of credentials, and after a thorough investigation initiated by career civil servants. The employee was allowed to continue working at senior levels in the agency while a second investigation was ongoing. Once it was concluded, the agency’s only offered justification failed to account for various facts and admitted the employee lied to investigators – yet ultimately exonerated the person. The House Foreign Affairs Committee Republicans have since been contacted by multiple credible whistleblowers at USAGM asking for a full  examination of her rehiring and the suspect basis for the agency’s sudden about-face.

“I am incredibly concerned the Biden Administration rehired an executive at USAGM who has been credibly accused of misusing taxpayer funds and falsifying her own credentials – a concern that is shared with many staffers at USAGM, including multiple whistleblowers who have contacted my office and other Members of Congress. I have made repeated requests to the agency for an explanation, and have requested a detailed accounting of all individuals involved in the rehiring process. But so far, no response has been offered. Congress needs answers about what is being done to address continued accusations of mismanagement – which sadly have spanned multiple administrations. This is further proof of the critical need for the Biden Administration to nominate competent, non-partisan individuals to the USAGM advisory board immediately.”

In addition, the committee is looking into reports that surfaced last week of plagiarism at Voice of America and whether managers delayed action on the plagiarism for months.

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